Bruins shut out Panthers, end four-game slide, back in tie for first in Northeast

CBSSports.com | Apr 21

The Boston Bruins saluted rather than celebrated.

Ending a four-game winless streak and reaching a tie for first place in the Northeast Division with a 3-0 victory against the Florida Panthers on Sunday was secondary to the Bruins, considering all that has happened in Boston recently.

Each member of the team remained on the ice for a postgame ceremony to hand over their jerseys to a group of people who jumped in to assist the victims of the Boston Marathon bombing or members of law enforcement who participated in the manhunt that led to the capture of one of the suspects Friday night.

Thousands of fans remained for the ceremony, cheering as 26 jerseys were handed out to the heroes of a tragic week that could have been so much worse.

"There was still some electricity in the air when you look at the end of the game," Boston coach Claude Julien said. "Too much has happened in this past week to suddenly turn the corner and say we've forgotten. We haven't and we never will."

The "Shirt Off Our Backs" ceremony is actually an annual promotion for fans. But the Bruins said season-ticket holders asked instead for first responders to be the recipients.

"It's pretty overwhelming to see all the fans and all the players taking the time to say thanks," said Massachusetts State Police Trooper Mark Spencer, who was holding on to the sweaty jersey Jaromir Jagr had just handed him. "We couldn't even walk through upstairs during the venue without people stopping us and thanking us."

Spencer piloted the helicopter equipped with a thermal imaging device that confirmed the 19-year-old bombing suspect was hiding in a parked boat in neighboring Watertown.